Cottage Gardens | Cottage Garden Design | Cottage Garden Plants

Cottage Garden Design

Cottage Gardens have been around for centuries - and that familiarity is something we find reassuring; ever-present and eternal, cottage gardens evoke images of kindly grandparents and neighbors, conversations over garden walls, and the feeling that life is simple and timeless...

Cottage Garden Design - How to Plan a Cottage Garden

No two Cottage Gardens are alike - and that is part of their charm. There are a few points that will be common to all cottage gardens though, and that is the type of flower grown. Cottage Gardens originally grew a mixture of practical plants. Thses would have been varieties which were necessary for living - medicinal plants, plants used in dyeing cloth and herbs for cooking and keeping the cottage smelling sweet.

We still use herbs in our cooking today, and these are usually termed kitchen-garden plants, grown close to the kitchen door for easy picking.

Modern Cottage Garden designs encompass herbaceous plants, annuals, shrubs and climbing plants. Climbing Plants can ascend walls, fences, trellis or frames at the back of the garden. Taller plants should be next, at the back of the border. Medium-height plants should be grown in the center of the border and smaller varieties in front. Colors and varieties should be mixed - the aim is to cram in as many plants as possible in a colorful way, without any empty spaces. Grown along snaking paths, these riotous displays attract insects such as bees and butterflies as well as people!

Cottage Garden Maintenance - Looking after your Garden

Mantaining your Cottage Garden consists of the usual tasks of watering, pruning and weeding. Cottage Garden Plants need consistent watering to survive, so a good soaking in the spring and summer months, either in the morning or evening when the sun is less hot, is just the thing. Dead-heading after flowering and weeding the beds are common gardening tasks. Perennials and climbers can be pruned back hard in late summer or early autumn when they have finished flowering. Annuals can be removed after they have had the chance to seed - these can be collected for next year.

Don't get too carried away with the maintenance and forget to enjoy your garden!